KMC to crack whip, ensure pvt market building owners maintain their properties well

Kolkata: Following Friday’s collapse of a private market building in Bowbazar, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has decided to form a policy to ensure private building owners carry out proper maintenance of their properties.

A portion of a market building in Bowbazar in North Kolkata collapsed early morning on Friday. No one has been injured in the incident. Shopkeepers of the marketplace panicked after the building caved in as there is considerable uncertainty regarding when and how they are going to reopen their shops.

A KMC team from the building department arrived at the site to demolish the part of the balcony from where the collapse had happened. Biswarup Dey, the local councilor of the ward within which the incident took place, said the civic body had warned the owner of that property earlier.

Commenting on the incident, KMC Mayor Firhad Hakim said: “Private market building owners are not maintaining their properties. The KMC has warned such owners several times but it has fallen on deaf ears.”

He added that there are other market buildings in the city such as Jadubabur Bazar in Bhowanipore which are ill-maintained and pose a risk of collapse.

“If building owners do not listen to us, we will have to take measures to ensure they fall in line,” warned Hakim.

Talking about a possible solution to prevent such incidents, which can have disastrous consequences, he said: “KMC will have to come up with a policy to ensure maintenance of these buildings. We will draw up the policy and send it to the state government for approval. Further, in case we find any damaged and ill-maintained ‘gari barandas’ in these old buildings, we will demolish them.”